ABILENE – After 108 minutes of soccer Friday afternoon, the visiting McNeese Cowgirls put an end to a hard-fought match with the first and only goal of the day. In the most evenly-played match of the season, ACU (8-5-1, 3-3-1 Southland) matched its guests in nearly every statistical category. These are two teams that play one-another closely every time out, and it was no different on this day at Elmer Gray Stadium. McNeese (10-5-1, 4-2-1 Southland) spoiled Homecoming Friday with almost no time left in the game.
"It was a tough way to lose," said head coach
Casey Wilson. "I thought we took care of things defensively throughout the game, because we didn't feel McNeese had many dangerous chances on offense. Unfortunately, we just got caught on our heels late and they made the play. It was tough."
The final goal came from the foot of Havana Johnson, good for her sixth of the season. After an unfortunate hand ball called on ACU's
Shay Johnson while she was on the ground, McNeese grabbed the ball extremely quickly and sent a free kick down the left side for Johnson. The Cowgirl sophomore stayed onside, beat her defender, and sent a left-footed laser through the left side passed the outstretched arms of goalkeeper
Rachel Johnson to end the game.
The match was as even as it gets. Both sides attempted 17 shots in total, and each team got a look at three shots in the second overtime period. ACU had multiple chances offensively, but key blocks or key saves by Emma Roccaforte kept the game scoreless. Roccaforte finished with eight saves total. Five blocks in the match for the McNeese defense was key to escaping with the win as well.
In a scoreless first half, ACU held a slight 6-4 edge in shot attempts. However, four times the ball was blocked near the net by the Cowgirls.
Megan Paul and
Sophie Standifer had quality looks in the 20th minute, but both deflected off McNeese and were cleared away. Meanwhile, the ACU defense was excellent, never allowing a clean chance for the visitors.
Rachel Johnson finished with five saves, bringing her season total to 51, but drops to 5-3-1 in net this season.
Offensively,
Shay Johnson led the way with four shot attempts, placing three on frame. Paul added three, while
Ashley Stamps,
Dylan Owens, and
Brittney Harris tallied two each.
Of the seven home matches this season, six have been decided by either a score of 1-0 or a scoreless tie. The outlier was a 3-2 victory over New Mexico State on Sept. 2. McNeese now improves its lead in the all-time series with the Wildcats to 4-2-1, with all but one game decided by a goal. The two programs play in tightly-contested matches since they began play in 2013.
ACU wraps its home stand Sunday, Oct. 14 against the Cardinals of Lamar University. Kickoff in Abilene is scheduled for 1 p.m.
